Ever since the words “big data” were first uttered in public, people have been unaware of what it really is and the implications it could have on daily life.
One subsection of society who might have more of an idea of what it’s all about is the online gaming community, who have witnessed the advances made by the tech companies leveraging big data advancements to improve everything from the AI of computer generated characters to the in-game customer service each player receives. Here’s how big data once solely used in the realms of gaming is now being used in every walk of life.
The world is becoming ever more connected
CCTV and Face Recognition
Sheffield is no stranger to the vagaries of CCTV monitoring and face recognition. The council currently have 102 active CCTV cameras recording movements in the city and even Meadow Hall Shopping Centre trialled using facial recognition software back in 2018, tracking shoppers who entered through its doors. Such technology started out in Las Vegas casinos and then applied to the internet industry in order to make sure online sites maintained total and unwavering commitment to cracking down on security issues in general, which could negatively impact the player experience or even put a dent in the house’s monthly revenues, be it at their host of table games or elsewhere on their premises. However, the advent of big data allowed them not only to record what was going on at their venues, but also enabled them to collect said data and analyse it.
These days, once modern casinos have enough data about an individual customer they can use geo-fencing and beaconing to begin to not only predict what that customer will prefer and like, but also what will encourage them to act in a certain way or move them to a certain location. If you’ve ever seen people running around Sheffield neighbourhoods looking for Pokémon on their Pokémon Go game, then you’ve already seen this technology in action.
Body Sensors, Chips and Implants
Although it may seem like something out of a science fiction movie, body sensors and computer chip implants are not far from becoming a reality. In fact, many of the electronic devices people currently use on a daily basis are not too dissimilar to such dystopian technology. Wireless ear buds and high-end headphones, once the sole reserve of security personnel or gamers, are now everywhere with the likes of Apple and Samsung to name but two companies releasing such products. However, far from just being headphones to listen to music through or call your gaming buddies on, such devices are constantly routing data back to your phone, which returns it to the company in question, to do with as they please. With many people already spending the majority of their waking life with such buds fixed in their ears, as well as phones strapped to their thighs, it is no great leap to imagine tech firms wanting to go that extra step, as was evidenced when Google released its Google Glass product.
Artificial Intelligence
AI has been an intrinsic part of gaming for as long as computer games have existed, especially seeing as early games were unable to connect players via the internet, meaning players often had to square off against computer-generated foes. Therefore, it’s no surprise that many artificial intelligence development companies have used gaming as a testing ground. This has seriously been taken up a notch with the introduction of virtual reality technology, which allows game developers to track everything a player does, from speech patterns to pulse rate; all data that AI can learn from. Thanks to such data being accrued, we are not far away from seeing computer-generated minds that can think and react faster than a human can.
Away from gaming, in the real world, the impact of such technology will be huge, as disease-resistant, boredom immune, tireless robots supersede their less productive human counterparts. If you don’t believe us, why not listen to the UK government, who were already making such predictions twelve months ago.
